So he was roughly her age. She liked that. “Spring chicken,” she said cheerfully.
He went to the sink to rinse the asparagus. “And no woman my age is going to want to jump through fertility hoops to have kids at this point.”
“Well, sure, a woman your age would be crazy to eventhinkabout it,” Amy said. “So go younger like every other man in America. Marry a twenty-five-year-old and start popping them out.”
“Just pop them out, huh? Is it just me, or is your view of the male sexawfullycynical?”
“Iknow,” she said, a little mystified by how crabby about men she sounded. “I didn’t realize just how cynical I’d gotten until this very moment. I guess because I was married to one, I am raising two, am hosting another, and I work around them all day long. It can be a little exasperating.”
“Well, sure. That’s a lot of testosterone. But for the record, not all men are interested in twenty-five-year-old women. Personally, I prefer women who have lived a little. You know, shared experiences and all that.”
That might be the most interesting thing he’d said so far. Amy never heard men talk about “shared experiences.” She heard them talk about boobs, and for some reason, they loved to talk about them at work. She saw the way they looked at women, too, and when a woman hit fifty or so, the journey to complete invisibility was already underway. “I’m heartened to hear you’re not like that. But I still maintain most men are.”
“Yeah, they probably are,” he said with a sigh. “I travel with them. They’re pigs.” He grinned at her. “But didn’t you tell me your ex wanted to get back together? He could go younger, you know.”
She laughed as she rummaged around the produce drawer in the fridge. “Well, he tried. He found out younger was too much for someone who wants to be in bed by nine.”
“See? I rest my case.” Harrison flipped the steaks. “Not all men.”
She grabbed some lettuce and a cucumber. “Please don’t use my ex to rest your case.”
“Deal. If you won’t use my bachelorhood to rest yours.”
“Deal.” She smiled. His gaze slipped to her mouth for a sliver of a second, and then back to the steaks. It was enough to ignite a spark in a region of her body that had been dormant a long time.Well, hello.She could feel her face heating like she was twenty again.
She took several things out of the fridge and put them on the bar. “Do you like nuts? I’m making a salad.”
“Wait.” He pointed tongs at her. “You were very clear about no cooking or cleaning.”
“Old habits die hard.” She opened the cabinets until she found a salad bowl. “Also, I say a lot of things I don’t actually mean. I forget half of what I say, don’t mean the other half, and I’m kidding the other half after that.”
“That’s too many halves.”
“See? Don’t listen to me.”
“But what if I like listening to you?” he asked as he turned the steaks.
That little spark was spreading. “Well, that would be a first for me,” she said with a grin that was way too big for the moment. What was the matter with her?
But he looked at her and smiled warmly, and the tingle notched up.
“So,” he said. “A strong cold front is headed for us. They’re saying torrential rain turning to snow.”
He was smooth, changing the subject so that she wouldn’t drool on herself. She joined in the weather chat as they finished preparing the meal. She said that torrential rain sucked because she’d hoped to sit on the deck and paint like a real artist and she didn’t believe the snow. He asked what made a real artist. She said sitting on a deck and painting scenery, or at least that’s what all the art magazines showed her.
“Steaks are ready,” he said. “I’ll let them rest a couple of minutes.”
Her phone pinged. Amy glanced down at the screen.
Can I go with the guys to McKinney to hang out
Jonah. She sighed softly and texted back.
Ask your Dad.She put the phone down and went to get Duchess. She brought her into the kitchen, then took a few things out of the fridge to feed her. Boiled chicken. Broth. Carrots. A bit of kibble. Harrison watched curiously as she mixed it all together and fed it to Duchess.
“No wonder that dog is stuck to your side.”
“She’s old and has special dietary requirements.”
